Trickster tales are common in almost every ancient culture. They involve a trickster who uses clever methods to defeat larger or more powerful opponents. Two famous trickster tales are Doc Rabbit Bruh Fox and Tar Baby by Virginia Esther Hamilton, and The Toad and the Donkey by Toni Cade Bambara. The first one is about Doc Rabbit and Brother Fox building a house together. Bruh Fox kept a crock of cream in a nearby river, and Doc Rabbit would make a strange noise to frighten Bruh Fox, pretending that someone was calling him. Then, he would scamper down to the river and drink the cream. Fox got suspicious so he made a baby rabbit out of tar and caught the rabbit. However, Doc Rabbit tricked the fox into throwing him into a briar patch, where he was safe and sound. In the latter, a toad and a donkey race around an island. The donkey was faster, but the toad was smarter, had more support, and was more determined. Stories like these show that outrite strength doesn’t always win.
Every trickster tale follows a specific formula. The protagonist is a trickster who is intelligent, sneaky, and crafty. The trickster has an opponent who is usually smarter in some other way. In The Toad and the Donkey, the toad challenged the donkey to the race. The toad had plenty of little advantages. He had his family spread out over the island to distract the donkey. He was also more determined to win. Every mile, Donkey was tricked by a different family member into thinking that toad was ahead. Also, he was not very determined. After just the first milepost, he started grazing and even after he stopped, he went to drink at a well. He believed the toad was always ahead and quit the race. Meanwhile, in the other story, Doc Rabbit tricked Bruh Fox into thinking some patients were visiting him, which gave him an excuse to sneak off and drink the cream. He was trapped by the tar baby, but he tricked Bruh Fox into throwing him into a briar patch instead of a fire, where rabbits made their homes.
Trickster tales all have one common theme: it is always possible to defeat a larger, stronger opponent through intelligence and trickery. In The Toad and the Donkey, the toad had his family members trick the donkey into thinking he was very behind. This caused the donkey’s confidence to falter, and eventually he just gave up and was very stubborn about running ever since. The toad made it seem like he was ahead to mess with the donkey and tricked him into giving up. In Doc Rabbit Bruh Fox and Tar Baby, Doc Rabbit made a strange noise that seemed to frighten Bruh Fox. This gave him an excuse to sneak off and drink the cream, while Bruh Fox thought someone was calling for Doc Rabbit’s assistance. Later, Bruh Fox made a baby rabbit statue out of tar and trapped Doc Rabbit. He wanted to throw the rabbit in a fire for drinking all his cream, but the rabbit tricked him again into throwing him into a briar patch, a place that his kind called home.
Most trickster tales are written by people who are resisting against the majority or people who are in power, or to simply have some creative freedom. Virginia Esther Hamilton, author of Doc Rabbit Bruh Fox and Tar Baby, was known for exploring the African American experience in her works. All of them came after the Civil Rights Act was passed, but during those times, anti-African American sentiment was still common. She wrote “The People Could Fly: American Black Folktales”, which is a book in which a group of African American slaves called on old magic and flew away to escape captivity. Meanwhile, Toni Cade Bambara, author of The Toad and the Donkey, grew up in Harlem in the years after the Harlem Renaissance. She also had many anti-discrimination books. For example, in “Raymond’s Run”, which is part of a collection called “Gorilla, My Love”, a young African-American girl rejects feminine gender roles and is a long-distance runner. From this, it can be seen that some, or many authors of trickster tales are rebelling against the majority and/or fighting discrimination through literature.
Trickster tales have existed since ancient times. They involved an intelligent, crafty, and sneaky protagonist going up against a larger or more powerful opponent. The trickster has to win not by brute force, but through trickery and deceit. In Doc Rabbit Bruh Fox and Tar Baby, by Virginia Esther Hamilton, Doc Rabbit and Bruh Fox are building a house, but Doc Rabbit pretends that someone is calling for his help and sneaks off to secretly drink the crock of cream that Bruh Fox kept in a river. In The Toad and the Donkey, by Toni Cade Bambara, a toad races around an island against a much faster donkey. He enlists trickery and the help of his large family and exploits the donkey’s weak will and determination to miraculously win the race against the odds. In both of these stories, there is a trickster that someone even though they are at a disadvantage, whether in terms of strength or speed using wits. Additionally, both authors were known for their other works rebelling against societal discrimination in their times.
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